Bob McLeod

I'm pleased to say that we have made very good progress in this regard and had the opportunity to meet with all of the Aboriginal governments that still have unsettled land claims and had a number of meetings with the federal government, met a number of times with the grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations. There's another meeting scheduled for this week. I'll also be meeting with the federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. As your Member knows, there's three parties to the negotiations and it's more than just making an offer within a specific period of time. We can do that...

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to work with the federal government and Aboriginal governments to further their promotion and protection of Aboriginal and treaty rights. This includes collaborating and fostering government-to-government relationships with Aboriginal governments as well as negotiating and implementing Aboriginal resource and self-governments that respect, promote, and protect the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal peoples as highlighted in the priorities and ministerial mandates of the 18th Legislative Assembly. The successful conclusion of...

Thank you. Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories received notice from the federal government that the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs would be making an announcement during the United Nation's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City regarding its position on UNDRA. The Government of the Northwest Territories, like all other jurisdictions, was not made aware of what that announcement would be until the announcement was made by the Minister in New York. Understanding the implications of Canada's recent full endorsement of the United Nations...

As the Members know, the Premiers from all the provinces and territories in Canada will be there, as well as the Prime Minister of Canada. The first day will be a meeting with the leaders of three national Aboriginal organizations in Canada, and so those discussions will be primarily on climate change and the economy. The second day will be a First Ministers’ meeting between the Prime Minister and the 13 Premiers of all of the provinces and territories. What I will be talking about is how climate change is affecting us in the Northwest Territories. We’ll be talking on a number of issues and...

Being a very optimistic person, I expect that the environmental remediation will be completed this summer. As soon as it's completed, the federal government will issue the required leases and we can have people moving into the houses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I am pleased to say that we have seen the light.

---Laughter

The Government of Canada, the Government of Northwest Territories and the K'atl'odeeche First Nation are working together to resolve this long and outstanding housing issue on the Hay River Reserve. The way forward, as explained yesterday, is that there is still work to be done. A phase one environmental assessment was completed on the ten lots on the Hay River Reserve. A consultant has recommended that a phase two assessment will need to be completed in the summertime. In addition, the K'atl'odeeche Band is...

In reviewing some of the reasons for why it has taken so long, and as the Member indicated, in some instances, it has been 20, 25 years of negotiations. We have met with the Aboriginal governments to try to determine the problems, the stumbling blocks that have stopped us from settling these claims a lot earlier than this. We’ve had very good discussions. I think part of it is the mandates that are in place that don't allow us any flexibility. As I have said before, we have met with the federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and outlined how we saw us going forward. They are very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased to recognize some relatives and some friends from my hometown of Fort Providence: Mayor Sam Gargan, Pearl Leishman, Susan Christie, Shirley Gargan, and Ricky Gargan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 14, tabling of documents.

---Unanimous consent granted

As I indicated to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, I will be pleased to report back. Some of the discussions are embargoed and are on a confidential basis, but I have no problem sharing it with the standing committee on that basis.